Australian coming to Houston: What to do

What do I need to do that isn't on a tourist website?Never been to the US before. So there is a bunch of stuff I need to try and do that we don't do here.

I hate tourist studd for the most part. I wanna know what to do if I was doing things locals would do. I can only get so far on my Aussie accent. But I also don't trust tourist things on say, where is the best BBQ. I am coming just after Christmas if that's a thing that helps.

Also, what do I need to avoid? Any places, people etc?